Te Kuititanga 1839
The period following Haowhenua saw little conflict, but unresolved issues were ever-present.
A significant period in Ātiawa history during this time also talks of the influence of Christianity. This had seen many of the Taranaki people who had been taken into slavery by Ngāpuhi set free.
Many of these people became missionaries and a Te Ātiawa man Ripahau arrived from Northland to resettle with his Te Ātiawa relations in the Kāpiti region.
Ripahau had acquired the skills of literacy, and was well versed in the teachings of Christian beliefs.
It was through Ripahau that members of the Te Ātiawa tribe, in particular Reretawhangawhanga, Wiremu Kingi Te Rangitaake, Eruini Te Marau, Pirikawau, and Riwai Te Ahu acquired the skills of literacy.
More importantly, Ripahau introduced Te Ātiawa to the philosophies of the Bible. Te Ātiawa welcomed his teachings, which led to a gradual change in the traditional lifestyle of the tribe.
Te Ātiawa were now looking at the Christian philosophies as a means to forging peaceful relationships within the Kāpiti region. Ripahau also influenced Tamihana Te Rauparaha and Matene Te Whiwhi of Ngāti Toa and Ngāti Raukawa.
However, unresolved issues from the Haowhenua conflict led to more tension arising between the neighbouring tribes. This came to a head during the funeral of Waitohi, the sister of Te Rauparaha in 1839 as insults and disparaging remarks were made between the leaders. Upon the tribes return home tension continued to arise.
Despite attempts to seek peaceful means between the neighbouring tribes, negotiations came to an abrupt end when Minarapa, another liberated chief of the Taranaki tribe and staunch Christian man, was unable to secure the return of captives who had been taken prisoner and subsequently executed for building houses in the Otaki area. Once Minarapa returned to Waikanae to inform the people of the outcome, there was no choice but to prepare for more conflict.
The initial attack by Ngāti Raukawa occurred under the cloak of darkness in October 1839. This was led by the chiefs Ngakuku and Te Whatanui, and centred upon Waimea pā site, an outpost located within the large cultivation grounds of Ngāhuruhuru on the northern side of the Waikanae river. Ngāhuruhuru covers what is now the El Rancho Christian Holiday Park and stretches west towards the Waikanae river mouth. Waimea pā site mainly consisted of affiliates of Ngāti Kura hapū, and Ngāti Mutunga iwi. With the element of surprise working in favour of Ngāti Raukawa, a bloody battle ensued with muhc loss of life.
Bodies were scattered throughout the Ngāhuruhuru cultivation grounds. The surviving occupants of Waimea pā site were forced to retreat in disarray across the Waikanae river to another Te Ātiawa outpost called Arapawaiti pā site. This was a communal village for the Te Ātiawa hapū of Ngāti Rahiri and Ngāti Rukao.
It was at Arapawaiti pā site that reinforcements arrived from the main Te Ātiawa fortress of Kenakena pā site. Kenakena pā site was a massive communal village, partitioned into areas designed for individual hapū to commune independently of each other. The extent of the pā site covered 1.5 kilometres of the Paraparaumu beachfront in the location of the Paraparaumu Skate Park reaching inland as far as the location of Te Ātiawa Park.
Reinforcements also arrived from the Te Uruhi pā site, the communal village of Puketapu hapū, and the Ngāti Maru Wharanui pā sites of Whareroa and Tipapa. Whareroa and Tipapa are located in the area of Queen Elizabeth Park.
Soon a counterattack was launched. Ngāti Raukawa, overwhelmed by the volume of the attack, were forced to make a hasty retreat. Te Āti Awa pursued their enemies, who retreated by way of the Waikanae beach front. Te Ātiawa pursuers outpaced their Ngāti Raukawa counterparts, forcing the enemy to run through the heavy sand of the dunes. Inevitably, Ngāti Raukawa suffered as a result of this, as many of Te Ātiawa’s enemies were captured and killed. This pursuit continued to the Kukutauaki stream, where the Taranaki iwi chief Minarapa called an end to the slaughter. The surviving Ngāti Raukawa retreated to their territories.
At the conclusion of the battle, the Ngāti Raukawa captives were escorted to various pā sites of Te Ātiawa. The consequences were horrific. 55 Ngāti Raukawa captives were escorted to Kenakena and Te Uruhi pā sites. It was there that the Puketapu and Otaraua chief Te Manutoheroa exclaimed “If you had come during daylight and fought like men, this would not have happened!”
“If you had come during daylight, and fought like men,
this would never have happened,”
nā Te Manutoheroa.
The 55 captives were all executed. Accounts state that “It was like the breaking of calabashes”. However, the Te Āti Awa did not treat the deceased in the traditional fashion. The bodies were buried in a mass grave, but were afforded a Christian burial and acknowledged with military honours. Other Ngāti Raukawa captives were taken to other Te Āti Awa sites for imprisonment.
Kaitoenga pā site, further inland of Arapawaiti and across from the vicinity of Ngāhuruhuru cultivation ground, was established by the Otaraua hapū and kept Ngāti Raukawa captives there until peace had been reached between Te Āti Awa and Ngāti Raukawa.
The name, ‘Kaitoenga’, is representative of the manner in which the captives were held. The captives were considered to be ‘Scrap Food’, and were taunted as such. However, cannibalism did not take place as the shift from old practices and Christian influences began to take effect. Taewapirau, a Ngāti Kura communal area, and Upoko-te-Kaia, a Ngāti Mutunga pā site, have names that reflect the severity of the battle.
The battle itself was witnessed Henry Williams, Octavius Hadfield, Colonel William Wakefiled, Ernst Dieffenback and Charles Heaphy, who were observing from the New Zealand Company Ship, the Tory, which was anchored off Kāpiti Island. Other important onlookers were Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata.
The aftermath of the battle was met by much lament. The deceased were mourned and celebrated. Waimea pā site had been devastated. Because of the amount of blood spilt upon the land, Waimea pā site was vacated, and Ngāhuruhuru was to never be used as a cultivation ground again.
The deceased that were scattered within the grounds were buried where they had fallen by way of Christian protocols. Ngāhuruhuru, which had been used extensively by the pā sites that surrounded or dwelled within its contours, was considered a wāhi tapu, and from then onwards was only used for burials.
Ancestors who have been recorded as being buried within the contours of Ngāhuruhuru and Waimea are the Te Āti Awa chieftaness, Pohe, who was married to the chief Te Rangihiroa of Ngāti Toa and Ngāti Mutunga. Pohe was beheaded at Ngāhuruhuru. Eruini Te Marau’s mother, Te Ripu or Meturia, was buried at Waimea. Metapere Te Waipunahau, the mother of Wi Te Kakakura Parata and Hemi Matenga, was also buried at Waimea.